PIGTAILS!!

an entire blog posting devoted to pigtails! Doesn't she just look adorable?

even when she cries...still looking cute in pigtails!

Meagan and Avery were in town last week and came by for a visit! Meagan and I enjoyed catching up and laughing at the girls as we watched them play together. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they move closer to us in the near future :)

and Madelyn had her 18 month well-check a little late, so here are her stats:

34.3 inches tall (97%)

24 lb 7 oz (50%)

and just a side note...at the dr office she noticed the lollipops at the check-out counter for the first time! She of course wanted one (though I'm not quite sure she really knew what it was). I thought about it for a minute (she did get a shot after all), but decided to go with "Those are for mommies, stickers are for babies" and she bought it! I might not get so lucky next time :)

Take Me Out To the Ball Game...

Sunday was a great family day spent mostly outdoors in the beautiful weather! We went to church, sat on the patio for a delicious brunch, went to a Frisco Roughriders baseball game, then went to the park!!

Clint and Madelyn with her souvenir...

We sat in the "family section"...the cheap seats...you don't actually get seats but sit in the grassy area on blankets and all the kids play!
Madelyn loved to walk down to the fence and look up at the people...rather than watch the game :) I think she thought they were all watching (and occasionally cheering) for her!

lounging on the blanket with Daddy...
then back down to the fence. It was bright so she needed her shades!!


then more blanket time with Daddy...so glad we didn't pay for real seats and try to keep her contained the whole time !
I tried to introduce her to the first unwritten rule of a baseball game: you must eat a hotdog! She took 2 tiny bites of mine and then went back to her crackers :) Clint and I enjoyed ours though!
at the park afterward...

1, 2, 3...SWING!!

Madelyn's favorite thing to do at gymnastics is hang or swing from the bar! (As you can see, Carter and Lincoln are fans as well). They climb up on the yellow mat, grab the bar, swing down, and hang for as long as they can. The bar is low in the pic, but sometimes when the bar is raised higher, the funniest part is when Madelyn drops :)

She does not want to participate in other parts of class (except balls and bubbles of course!). She just finds the bar and wants to stay there the whole time. We don't have many classes left before summer break, so I want to try to bring the video camera one day.

She also tries to hang on everything at home now, and I just know it will end in disaster. The oven door handle and especially her highchair tray are just not strong enough for her to hang on! Try telling that to her though :)

Welcome Baby Jackson!

My friend Laura just had her second little boy, Jackson! He is precious, and I couldn't believe how light he was in my arms now that I am use to lugging around a toddler.

Jackson and I

Madelyn and Lincoln (the big brother) got to play for a while. Both of Lincoln's parents are doctors so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he checked Madelyn's ears with his doctor's kit...so funny!
The only thing M knew how to use was the medicine syringe! I guess we need to buy the girl a doctor's kit and do some educating!

The Harns did not get fully moved in to their new house before Jackson arrived, so right now Lincoln has a "ball room" which he is very excited about!
Congratulations Laura!

Easter!

Happy Easter (a little late) from the Ivy family! We spent Easter weekend in Lubbock with our parents!

When we arrived, my dad had just gotten back in town also and emptied his ice chest. Who knew that could be so exciting!? Madelyn played in the ice for a while, she and Pop took turns throwing ice cubes, and she got her PJs all wet. Next time you are bored at home...dump out a big pile of ice!

Pop brought over Clint's old rocking horse and it was a huge hit!

Giddyup!!

Madelyn also enjoyed playing with my old doll and crib...she thought it was more fun to play IN the crib though...
reading with Pop...
and Gramma...
Saturday morning Madelyn made cupcakes with her Papa Jo! Clint's mom had given me everything I needed to make Easter cupcakes, but I hadn't had time, so we brought it all with us.

Madelyn's recipe for cupcakes...first you lay out your cupcake liners...
then pour in all the ingredients...
mix it up...
then spoon the batter into the liners...
try not to spill too much...
bake, then ice, and then the best part...the sprinkles! (Madelyn may have used the Christmas sprinkles along with the Easter sprinkles!)
finally, EAT!!! M had not had a cupcake since the couple bites she took at her birthday party. This time though, she had no trouble downing the entire thing!
Here is what we ended up with! An interesting assortment...
Papa Jo helping Madelyn eat...real food, not cupcakes :)
Amy came over for Madelyn's Easter Egg hunt, then I was lucky enough to sneak away and have a toddler-free lunch with her. We then swung by her house to see her nursery she just completed! Madelyn and I can't wait to meet baby Bliss!
After being lucky enough to have multiple egg hunts this year, Madelyn is becoming a pro hunter!

M and Pop

M and Gramma

Amy, Madelyn, and me

Since she was so excited about the goldfish-filled eggs at her last hunt, we decided to do that again! As you can see, she was just as excited (and hungry) the second time...
Clint will think I am a huge dork for posting this one, but I think he looks so handsome!! Love you honey!
We had a mini badmitten tournament...all of us were horrible!

Then we met Keegan and Blythe for some Easter festivities. We first saw the Easter Bunny where Blythe posed so nicely for a picture...
The peer pressure obviously did not work and M started saying no, no, no as we walked up to her. Here is the girl (bunny) trying to convince Madelyn that she was just a person inside a costume...it didn't work! Madelyn did give her a high-five though before I gave up on a picture.
Then we held live bunnies! M was much more excited about this one!
Lastly, she had her face painted again. This time a bunny, of course.

tried to get a pic of the two bunnies...
look Pop, I'm a bunny rabbit!
HAPPY EASTER!!!